Compared to Canada, UK, and USA, gastric sleeve surgery (also referred as “sleeve gastrectomy”) cost abroad can be about 50 to 60% cheaper. Popular destinations for gastric sleeve surgery are Mexico, Costa Rica, and India.

This article discusses what gastric sleeve surgery is and what are the things to keep in mind when choosing between Mexico, India, or Costa Rica for this bariatric medical procedure. Also, discussed here is the price of this surgery at these overseas locations.

In gastric sleeve surgery, the surgeon removes about 60%  of the stomach resulting in its shape like a “sleeve” (banana or tube shape). This is performed usually on individuals having a BMI of 60 or more. The gastric sleeve surgery is used many a time as the first of a two-stage weight loss surgery. The second stage is gastric bypass and is done after the patient loses 80 to 100 pounds due to the gastric sleeve. Some surgeons overseas have started offering gastric sleeve surgery to low BMI patients as an alternative to laproscopic gastric banding (”LAP BAND”). Majority of the patients lose about 50% of their excess weight in the first 6 to 12 months after the sleeve gastrectomy.

Advantages of Gastric Sleeve Surgery
- Does not involve cutting and rejoining of intestines
- Simpler than gastric bypass
- No fills or adjustments.
- Safer even for high BMI patients (60 BMI or more)- Does not have the side effects experienced by bypass patients because the digestion system is unaltered.
- Preferred by patients who are reluctant to have a device implanted in their body.

Mexico is the most preferred destination for Canadian and US patients because of its proximity. Costa Rica is also popular among North Americans as it not only provides low-cost and high quality treatment but it is also a great tourist attraction and has plenty of direct flights from most major US cities.

From Europe there are no direct flights to Costa Rica. A stopover and plane change in the US would be required. India also has recently started attracting a fair number of obesity surgery patients from North America, primarily because of the low price of the medical treatment, high quality medical professionals and internationally accredited hospitals. For UK patients too, India is one of the best options due to a number of cheap direct flights and shorter travel times. Here are price quotes from some leading hospitals in these countries:

Mexico $ 11,990
Costa Rica $ 8,900
India $ 7,500

Weight loss surgeries is a popular medical tourism procedure. With most of the insurance industry considering this an elective medical procedure, patients have to pay for it themselves. Going abroad, hence, is a good alternative.

Mexico, Costa Rica, and India provide a high-quality low-cost alternative to patients who in their home country cannot afford the procedure because of the high cost or long waiting lines.

Related: American College of Surgeons Report - Comparison of Gastric Sleeve, Lap Band & Gastric Bypass